Blood on the Horizon
- Chapter 13 -[]
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Sleeping in the Greenhouse[]
"It's beautiful," I wept as I looked at the simulated sunlight and overgrown greenhouse that was deep within the station. I knelt and smelled the overgrown grass and then spotted the pond that was further up, driving me to rise and look at the fish teeming within.
A grin spread across my face as I enjoyed the life that was here, it might just be plants and fish, but that was more than I had been able to see for the last two years.
Laying back against the grass and closing my eyes to the simulated sun, I could almost pretend that I was back on earth, the soil beneath me felt right, and the smell was almost home as well.
"I think I'll explore the rest of the station later," I yawned and let my head fall back against the grass. "I think I should get some rest."
With a final, pleased sigh, I drifted off into the peaceful embrace of sleep.
Waking up a few hours later, I sat up and rubbed the remnants of exhaustion out of my eyes, feeling more rested from the nap that I had just taken than I had from getting a full night's rest over the last two years.
"I'm going to have to see if there are any fishing poles around," I looked at the fish pond. "Some fried fish sounds really good right now."
Then, I left the greenhouse, I had rested enough for now and there was work to be done.
Taking the grand tour[]
"One intact Potemkin carrier," I noted as I looked in the other full berths of this remote base. "One damaged Texas class battleship and one Invader JumpShip," I sighed and drank some water to stave off the incoming headache. "And I get to go over the contents of every single one of them."
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Potemkin Class Troop Cruiser
"We'll start with the Age of Discovery," I read the ship's title from the side. "Might be fun."
Moving via gantry, I reached one of the airlocks and began cycling through, the ship's power systems still being active enough for this sort of thing even after hundreds of years without being serviced.
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Texas Class Battleship
"Say what you will about the Star League and other nations in this universe," I rapped the side of the ship once I was inside. "But they built things to last."
Then, turning on the light that was attached to the kit I was using, I started navigating to the cargo bay of the massive Warship.
"This was a waste of resources," I sighed as I looked at the mostly empty bay. "The Potemkin class could have been the best thing to happen to the merchant marine for every nation. Twenty-five dropships to ferry the cargo to and from the planet, and enough space for passenger capacity as well."
I shook my head as I inspected the crates that were left and began taking notes. "Lots of ammo supplies and spare SLDF uniforms, not much advanced tech here," I opened up one of the crates to find stacks of SLDF-grade neurohelmets. "Okay, there's some advanced tech here. But I don't think there's all that much on this ship at least."
After a few hours, I finished my inventory of the Age of Discovery's cargo bay and decided that it was time for a break.
Grabbing a fishing pole and some baits I had found, I went to the greenhouse and got set up, once again smiling at the green that was around me.
After a few minutes of waiting, a fish grabbed onto the hook and I reeled it in, a grin spreading across my face as I pulled the catfish off of my hook and dropped it into the bucket beside me.
I was going to eat well tonight.
Finally something else to Eat[]
I wasn't quite sure how they had managed to get the flour to stay shelf stable for this long, but I wasn't going to question it as I mixed together what I needed to fry the fish up, the egg substitute working as I breaded the filets and mixed in the spices that I was using to season.
My homemade cajun probably needed a bit of work, but I didn't have any hot sauce available, and I desperately needed something besides the MREs that had been left aboard the Manassas.
And so, I lowered the basket into the fryer, the sound of the fish cooking a delight to my ears as I moved over to begin cutting up the potatoes I had found in the greenhouse as the smell of freshly cooked food filled my nose for the first time in over a year.
"Remember to pull it out when it's golden brown," I reminded myself as I looked over the fryer at the fish cooking within.
After a couple of minutes, I pulled the fish out and set them to the side on a plate before letting the oil heat up again, once the temperature reached what it should be, I lowered the fries in and watched as they quickly began cooking.
"I'm glad that salt doesn't really go bad," I muttered as I tossed the fries in a bowl after they were done frying, the salt I had tossed in with the fries seasoning them.
"And now for dinner," I put the fries on the plate and sat down at the nearby table.
Using a fork, I easily cut a small piece of the fish off and chewed it thoughtfully before swallowing, a feeling of contentment settling over me as I enjoyed the taste of something similar to home.
"It's not quite as good as it could be," I ate a few fries. "But it's a damn sight better than those MREs."
I ate the plate and then went back to the kitchen where I fried up the rest of the fish and potatoes I had gathered earlier. I knew that I was going to pay for this later, but right now, I was hungry, and I was going to eat as much as I wanted before my stomach and brain decided to get on the same page.
I knew that there was a lot left to do, but for a minute, I almost felt like I was home again, and that made all the difference.